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Overview
This necklace was made by artist and jeweller Niki Hastings-McFall. She draws on her Samoan heritage and her contemporary New Zealand experience to create a diverse range of adornments.
Materials and decoration
Hastings-McFall uses a wide variety of materials in the creation of her work, including natural and synthetic, found and made. This pendant consists of a circular disc of black-lipped pearl shell with a convex back, overlaid with a black (patinated silver) fretwork. The latter is attached to the disc by four metal pins at a central perforation in the disc. The pendant is suspended by a fine black plaited cord, which passes through a small metal ring at the top of the disc and fastens at the back with a loop over a pearl button.
Significance
In this work, Hastings-McFall makes explicit reference to the well known `kapkap' form of the Solomon Islands and parts of Papua New Guinea. The kapkap is a forehead or shoulder ornament, in which a delicate turtle shell filigree design overlies a solid disc of clam shell. A similar ornament was also made in the Marquesas Islands. The filigree decoration is inspired by the free hand painted patterns of siapo (tapa cloth) of Sāmoa.
Acquisition History
This necklace was purchased for the Te Papa collections in 2001